Global Warming II

The impact of climate change on Narragansett Bay


State Standards

RI GSE LS2 (9-11)

Context of Lesson

This is the second lesson on global warming in a unit investigating the human impact on the Narragansett Bay ecosystem. Students have already been exposed to various influences such as invasive species, pollution and habitat destruction. They should also have had some exposure to the effects of carbon dioxide on the atmospheric temperature. In this lesson students will investigate some of the original research of global warming and explore how temperature effects have influenced some of the organisms of Narragansett Bay.

Opportunities to Learn

Depth of Knowledge
Level 1: Identify effects of global warming in the bay
Level 2: Illustrate and graph the changes in greenhouse gases
Level 3: Hypothesize the impact of increasing carbon dioxide

Prerequisite Knowledge

Plans for Differentiating Instruction
Process: Differentiated instructional methods
  • Inquiry Based Learning: Use of inquiry based learning will help create a student centered learning experience. Students work at their own pace and investigate data related to greenhouse gases. Through their investigations and research, they will come up with information that they find relevant to construct meaning of larger concepts.
  • Cooperative Learning: Use of cooperative learning will help students by allowing the group to investigate data activity and coming together as a whole to make meaning of a larger concepts such as impact of greenhouse gases and global warming

Accommodations and modifications
  • Student A: Accommodation needed for writing skills and comprehension of directions. Explicit instructions will be given in written and oral form.
  • Other accommodations or modifications will be made according to IEP protocol.

Environmental factors
  • Activity to take place in classroom
  • Students to work in groups.

Materials
  • Raw Data (Analyzing greenhouse gases activity)
  • Pencil
  • Graph Paper
  • Ruler
  • Articles
  • Article Summary


Objectives

Students will be able to...
  • Identify pattern and trends of increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
  • Graph the trend of increasing greenhouse gases
  • Interpret the curve of a graph and make a prediction based on the data curve
  • Asses the effects of global warming on Narragansett Bay
  • Hypothesize how global warming might impact us in the future

Instruction

Opening
Question (Written on board)

  • In yesterdays lab we investigated the effect of carbon dioxide on temperature.
  • What do you think would happen with increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?
  • How would this affect the organisms in the ecosystem?
  • How would this affect your life?

Segue
  • Review student answers
  • Organisms affected in Bay, effect on fishing economy, increasing water levels, Algal blooms, etc
  • Today we will:
    • Investigate levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
    • Investigate the effects of global warming
    • Discuss the effects of global warming



Engagement
Data Activity

Article Summary
  • Students remain in groups and read and summarize one of the following articles:
    • Could global warming turn R.I. into the under-Ocean State
    • Narragansett Bay turns into the Chesapeake
    • Jellyfish Swarm North in Warming World
    • Watching the changes in Narragansett Bay for half a century
    • Increased water temperature may prevent winter flounder from rebounding in east coast estuaries
  • Students complete Article Summary worksheet
  • Student discuss articles with each other in groups

Closure
  • Ask students
    • What evidence have you investigated that demonstrates evidence of global warming?
    • Name one way in which we are impacted by global warming


Assessment

  • Greenhouse data activity
  • Article jigsaw summary sheet

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